Retail intelligence firm names new chief

Competitive intelligence firm RetailData, Richmond, Va., has named Jacob Blondin its new president and chief executive officer. The company specializes in retailer strategy and omnichannel data systems that provide insights into private label matching, product linking and promotional intelligence.

Blondin has been promoted to the leading position, after serving the last five years as its chief operating officer. He replaces Christopher F. Ferguson, who is retiring after more than 20 years with the the company, including the last five as CEO.

Blondin came to RetailData in 2015 as its vice president of strategic initiatives and later promoted to COO. He oversaw the doubling of the company’s field operations in the United States and Canada and promoted a technology-driven focus on its retail competitive intelligence.

"This is one of the most exciting times to be in the retail intelligence space, as retailers define their omnichannel strategies to address conventional, new and ever-evolving competitive disruptions," Blondin said. "In the very recent past, retailers were clearly defined as brick and mortar or e-commerce, such static definitions we no longer find relevant. We are now seeing these business models converge and the recent COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this transition by years."

Blondin has spent the majority of his career in technology-related industries with a focus on optimization and innovation. He began his career as an industrial process engineer in the semiconductor industry with Intel and held various leadership positions within the bioenergy industry inclusive of operations, acquisitions and engineering responsibilities before joining RetailData.